Electric-circuit breaker



' Feb. 23 1926.

w. M. KAY

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT BREAKER Filed Oct. 17, 1924 w m ago/2 "WITNESSES;

91mm? Wino? yum. 17mm Patented Feb. 23, 1926i v UNITED STATES v 7 1,574,580 PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM MAI-ILON REID KAY, OF WINDSOR, ONTARIO, CANADA.

ELECTRIC-CIRCUIT BREAKER.

Application filed October 17', 1924.. Serial No. 744,225.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM MAHLON REID KAY, a British subject, residing at 81 Cameron ve., in the city of Windsor, in the county of Essex and Province of Ontario, Dominion of Canada, having invented oer.- tain new and useful Improvements in Elcc trio-Circuit Breakers, do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to' improvements in a machine for opening an electric circuit supplying current to an electric water heater automatically, the object of which is to protect, the same electric heater from becoming overheated and burnt out also to render the said machine simple and inexpensive of construction.

I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fi 1 shows a plan view of the circuitbrea er. s

Fig. 2 shows a sectional elevation of the same.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts 1 throughout thesever-al Views.

Referring to the drawings.

In contact with the coiled copper conduit 26, which was patented Sept. 16, 1924 under the title of electric water heater, is a flat strip of metal 20 which has a little metal cup 23 mounted on its other end which contains a pellet of metal alloy 22.

The purpose of this strip of copper 20 is to convey'the heat from the conduit coils in the heater, after the same have boiled dry, to the pellet of metal contained in the little metal'cup.

The metal armature 24 has a weight 18 secured by a nut and screw 19 to one of its ends but insulated from the same by a fibre washer 21. This armature 24 can move up or down or rock owing to it being secured by a pivot bearing at its centre to a metal standard 14 which is mounted by a nut and screw 16 to a non-conducting base 4. The armature bearing is indicated by 25 in the drawings. p

At the other end of the said metal armature is a slot or groove 31. This groove engages with a point or finger 29 on the terminal standard 27 and in this way keeps the metal contact 10 which is secured to the same pressed against the other metal contact 11 which is secured by a spring 12 to its terminal standard 13., This little spring 12 causes its contact 11 to exert a pressure against the contact 10 on the lever 27 and as soon as the armature 24 releases this lever 27 it is made to fall back with its contact 10 from the contact 11 secured to the spring 12 which causes the current to be broken.

It will also be seen that the extension or finger 9 of lever 27 being off centre of lever 27 will also cause the lever 27 when in an upright or perpendicular position to fall back, also by means of gravitation.

This is not the main purpose of the finger 9 on lever 27, its duty being to release the other end of the armature 24 from the molten alloy. The metal standard 27 works on a hinge 28 and together with the standard 13 are both secured to the non-conducting base 4 by screws and binding-posts 17 and 15 respectively.

In the above position, as when the metal contacts 10 and 11 are touching,the circuitbreaker is closed and the electricity is allowed to flow through the heating elements in the water heater. This closing of the contacts isaccomplished by pushing on the plunger pin 1, which isinsulated at its end by a fibre tip 8, which in turn pushes the standard 27 working on its hinge 28 to a perpendicular position till its end or finger 29 drops in the groove 31.

Upon removal of the hand from the plunger pin lthe little coil spring 6, which engages with the pin by means of the hole 7 in the said pin, pulls or releases immediately the fibre tip 8 from the terminal standard 27.

Mounting of the complete circuit-breaker, by means of its non-conducting base 4, to the casing is accomplished by the nut 5 and flanged threaded bushing 2 through which the plunger pin works.

Supposing the contents of the water heater were to boil dry, then as alreadystated the heat would be conducted to the metal alloy in the metal cup by the copper strip. This rise in temperature would immediately melt the alloy and thereby cause the little screw resting on it to sink into the same. would cause the opposite end of the armature with its groove 31 to rise and release the linger 29 of the standard 27 from the same and would fall back causing the circuit to be broken at the electrical contacts, 10 and 11. I

The How of electricity'being cut ofi or This ' stopped the temperature in the heater would begin to fall owing to the air in the same circulating through the coils'of tubingand so by means of the copper strip ,the little alloy pellet in the cup would by conduction become cool and hard, allowing the said circuit-breaker to be again reset.

Immediate releasing of the little screw from the molten alloy'is accomplished by the finger 30 of the standard 27 pressin down, when falling, on the armature an raising its opposite end which releases the above mentioned screw.

In a thermostatic circuit-breaker, a supporting base, a latching member pivoted on said base, a heat conductor in contact with a controlled device, a heat conducting receptacle fixed to said heat conductor, a fusi ble metal in said receptacle, an adjustable member mounted on said latchin member and resting on the surface of said fusible" member to hold latch in latched position, a fixed resilient contact, a pivoted contact cooperating therewith and held in closed circuit position by said latching member, so that on release of said latch, said pivoted contact is impellei toward open circuit position by said fixed resilient contact and held in said position by gravity, and a resetting push button for closing said contacts.

WILLIAM MAHLON REID KAY. 

